Author: Joe Runyan (214 posts)

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Joe Runyan is the author of Winning Strategies for Distance Mushers (2003), and collaborated with Iditarod champs Jeff King in writing Cold Hands, Warm Heart(2008) and Lance Mackey in writing The Lance Mackey Story (2010). Runyan won 1st Place Best Sport’s Story Pacific NW Professional Journalists (2011). Runyan is the only musher to have won the three major long distance events in his era, the Iditarod (1989), Yukon Quest (1985), and Alpirod (1988).

March 12 2:34pm Kaltag Top Twenty Joe Runyan WE have clear skies in Kaltag, but our next checkpoint at Unalakleet visiblitly is low and flights temporarily on hold. Therefore, its a shuffle for camera placement. As the lead pack pushes to UNK, I remain in Kaltag where it seems the top twenty is either in Kaltag …

March 12 10:24 am Kaltag A summary for the very busy Person Joe Runyan MItch Seavery, now at mile 687 is just 31 miles from the BEring sea community of Unalakleet and is leading the Iditarod. For brevity, since this is a summary for the VERY BUSY PERSON who is often heard to say, …

march 11 8:25pm Kaltag Mitch Seavey Defends Lead into Kaltag Joe Runyan Check out the great video at the Insider and the TRacker tool to appreciate the separation Mitch SEavey has accumulated over the last 24 hours. Mitch arrived Kaltag at 7:40 pm, about fifty miles ahead of competitor Wade Marrs. Pundits will argue …

March 11 Noon Nulato LEad pack hits the Yukon, REsts at Koyukuk OUr Insider team departs Huslia in direction Yukon River to intercept the lead pack of Wade Marrs, Dallas SEavey, and Mitch SEavey. The lead pack has stopped in Koyukuk at the confluence with the Yukon, while we jump ahead to …

March 11 8:29am Huslia Wade Marrs leads pack Insiders can read the stats and follow the very diagnostic GPS tracker to come to my same conclusion. Wade Marrs is leading the pack into Koyukuk and resisting the attacks of Dallas and Mitch Seavey. Other luminaries in the mushing world including Aliy Zirkle are …

March 10 10:55pm Huslia Joe Runyan An easy thing to do in this well organized checkpoint, I take a little walk around the checkpoint after Mitch Seavey’s rowdy departure. Fortunately, our main players r resting in Huslia are out amongst their huskies in the dog lot. Michelle Phillips and Jessie Royer are parked in …

March 10 Huslia 11am AFter an internet hiatus, we are back on line from the very beautiful, remote, village of Huslia. ONe can be lulled into an assumption that Huslia is interconnected by a local backroad highway because of the immediacy of communication, but in fact this community is quite independent of the world in …

March 9 8am Ruby Mitch Seavey surges to Galena Joe Runyan Mitch Seavey reminds the pack that he’s been on a race or two. The veteran, in my opinion, seized an opportunity to apply the pressure when he realized his son Dallas and front runner Wade Marrs pulled up in Ruby for a 24 hour …

:March 8 Ruby 10:43PM Five mushers now in Ruby Joe Runyan Five lead mushers into Ruby including Wade Marrs, Dallas Seavey, Mitch Seavey, Nicolas Petit, and JOar Ulsom. Here’s a late night round up. Wade Marrs, pleased with team performance. has decided to declare a 24 and appears resolved to follow through on it. …